I think I wanna try Porter.

[CamuMahubah]

Originally Posted by imp

I've grown Porter and Early Girl, and have liked the taste. I like some others better, but both are good producers for me and taste best if I am stingy with water, except in the worst of our heat (100 to 115) or during extended dry spells.

I've been known to water once a week while my neighbors are watering everyday.

[AlittleSalt]

Porter was developed in Stephenville, Texas in 1920s. It was meant to grow in the Stephenville, Texas area. From my zip code to theirs, it's 60 miles due west from my home. The first 30 miles doesn't change that much, but those last 30 miles - you feel like you're driving in west Texas, but without the desert. The area gets around 31" of rainfall yearly. There is a lot of chalk and limestone along the way. You can smell it in the air - and see it in the hills.

[MarlynnMarcks]

I like a twangy tomato but the key for me is a tomato that has a wide taste going from sweet to salty to acidy to fruity. Best way I know how to describe it. The salty part could be imagined but tomatoes don't taste like the ones my mother grew in that deep dark dirt in Lakeland FL.

How did your mother grow tomatoes in Florida dirt? It's full of nematodes which kill of all tomatoes I try to grow in the dirt in Port St Lucie Florida. And secondly, what kind were they???

[CamuMahubah]

Originally Posted by MarlynnMarcks

I like a twangy tomato but the key for me is a tomato that has a wide taste going from sweet to salty to acidy to fruity. Best way I know how to describe it. The salty part could be imagined but tomatoes don't taste like the ones my mother grew in that deep dark dirt in Lakeland FL.

How did your mother grow tomatoes in Florida dirt? It's full of nematodes which kill of all tomatoes I try to grow in the dirt in Port St Lucie Florida. And secondly, what kind were they???

She grew all kinds. Previously I mentioned the ones I remember most were hybrids. Big Boy, Early Girl, and Beefmaster were the ones I remember picking. There was also Rutgers.

I don't remember anythang being said about nematodes. Maybe the dirt in her garden had less nematodes? I don't know. I was very young. Like 8 years old.

I remember the Big Boys were very good. I still have vivid memories of supper one night.

Hamburgers were served with mayo and onion and ketchup and BIG BOY SLICES! I remember sprinkling salt on the left over tomato slices and savoring them.

We sat on outside on the screened in porch.

If you want I will PM you the address of where this all went down and you can see the porch on google earth and perhaps where the garden would have been.

This all happened approximately 1988ish...

Mom lives in Lake Wales Florida now and still has a garden every year. Biggest problem she had last year was BER on a few fruits. I cannot recall ever hearing her say anythang about nematodes.

I'll have to ask her about that.

I grow in mostly grey clay soil now. It's not that bad but it gets as hard as a rock and I think that slows my plants down. It does seem to hold moisture well though.

I am gradually fortifying the soil and each year my fruits get better.

[GaryStPaul]

I grow the Porter Ch. Herring strain every year, if so no other reason than it pumps out tomatoes throughout the season. Very reliable for me up here in MN.

[CamuMahubah]

Originally Posted by GaryStPaul

I grow the Porter Ch. Herring strain every year, if so no other reason than it pumps out tomatoes throughout the season. Very reliable for me up here in MN.

Well... how's it taste in Minnesota?

[MarlynnMarcks]

Originally Posted by CamuMahubah

She grew all kinds. Previously I mentioned the ones I remember most were hybrids. Big Boy, Early Girl, and Beefmaster were the ones I remember picking. There was also Rutgers.

I don't remember anythang being said about nematodes. Maybe the dirt in her garden had less nematodes? I don't know. I was very young. Like 8 years old.

I remember the Big Boys were very good. I still have vivid memories of supper one night.

Hamburgers were served with mayo and onion and ketchup and BIG BOY SLICES! I remember sprinkling salt on the left over tomato slices and savoring them.

We sat on outside on the screened in porch.

If you want I will PM you the address of where this all went down and you can see the porch on google earth and perhaps where the garden would have been.
[B]I'D LOVE TO SEE THIS.[/B]
This all happened approximately 1988ish...

Mom lives in Lake Wales Florida now and still has a garden every year. Biggest problem she had last year was BER on a few fruits. I cannot recall ever hearing her say anythang about nematodes. I LIKE LAKE WALES. GO THROUGH THERE ON MY WAY TO TAMPA AND ALWAYS STOP FOR LUNCH OR BREAKFAST
[/SIZE]
I'll have to ask her about that.

I grow in mostly grey clay soil now. It's not that bad but it gets as hard as a rock and I think that slows my plants down. It does seem to hold moisture well though.

I am gradually fortifying the soil and each year my fruits get better.